Work at joint Duqm refinery to begin mid-2018

KUWAIT: Minister of Oil Bakheet Al-Rasheedi receives well-wishers yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait is seeking to boost its oil production capacity up to 4.75 million barrels per day by 2040 in line with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's strategy, Minister of Oil Bakheet Al-Rasheedi said yesterday. Rasheedi, who doubles as Minister of Electricity and Water, made the press remark while receiving well-wishers who congratulated him on being selected as minister. The 2040 strategy is expected to be approved soon by the KPC's board, then it will be referred to the Supreme Petroleum Council, he said.

The oil output cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers has led to an over 50 percent drop in stocks since it was put in place in January, the minister added. However, the minister said it is too early now to talk about a strategy to exit the oil output cut agreement. He also spoke highly of a recent decision to extend the agreement till the end of next year, saying that it would create balance amid a notable improvement in the basic market factors of supply and demand. He pointed to the emergence of several positive indicators in the world oil market, which are predicted to speed up market recovery and rebalance, hailing the compliance of OPEC and non-OPEC member producers, mainly Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Rasheedi said that up to $5 billion is due soon from global banks for the financing of Oman's Duqm refinery, a joint venture of Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI). Work on the project is expected to be launched mid-2018, Rasheedi told well-wishers. On resuming production from the joint neutral zone shared with Saudi Arabia, the minister noted that consultations on technical aspects are underway with partners, voicing optimism on concluding solutions soon. Referring to the joint Nghi Son Refinery project with Vietnam, he said minor units are already operational. Full commercial operation of the facility is expected during the first half of 2018. - KUNA